SAN JOSE, Calif. \u2013\u00a0I was absolutely baffled when the San Jose Sharks let Joonas Donskoi go on the open market last summer. To me, I saw a guy who had size, some skill and really good wheels. I saw him as an unheralded but important player on some San Jose Sharks teams that advanced deep into the playoffs when he was there.<\/p>\n
Not that I\u2019m some talent scout expert, because Joe Sakic obviously thought the same thing when he and the Avalanche quickly snapped him up as a free agent last July 1, signing him to a four-year, $15.6 million contract. How has it worked out for the Avs since?<\/p>\n
The smile on Donskoi\u2019s face (above) answers most of that question. The 27-year-old Finnish right winger scored the game-winning goal in his first game back to San Jose. What looked to be just an insurance goal for the Avs was needed, when the Sharks cut a two-goal deficit in half with under a minute remaining in Sunday\u2019s game here at a half-empty Shark Tank.<\/p>\n
Colorado held on for the 4-3 victory, one that got them to within two points again of St. Louis for first place in not only the Central Division but the entire Western Conference. The Avs can take over the top spot with a victory in Los Angeles Monday night, in the finale of this three-game road trip.<\/p>\n
For Donskoi, it was a special night. Not only because of the game-winner, but because he got a nice tribute from the Sharks during a stoppage in play in the first period.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was cool, and I appreciate it,\u201d Donskoi said afterward. \u201cI spent four years here, and there are lots of great memories. I was a little nervous, more than usual, for this one.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hotel where the Avs stayed in San Jose is right across the street from where Donskoi lived here, so he didn\u2019t do anything exotic in his trip back. He didn\u2019t go see all his old haunts or anything, mostly just going to dinner with teammates like always. That said, it was a \u201cweird\u201d feeling being here as a visiting player for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a new experience. But I saw a lot of familiar faces here at the rink,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
On his goal, Donskoi said, \u201cI hadn\u2019t scored in a while, so it felt pretty good. (J.T Compher) made a great pass to me, and I just deflected it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, the goal was Donskoi\u2019s first in nine games, and his first point in six games.<\/p>\n
The Avs got a big game from the top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabe Landeskog and Vladislav Namestnikov, all of whom scored a goal. MacKinnon had two assists, with Landeskog adding one.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved our pace. I thought we skated really well,\u201d Jared Bednar said. \u201cOur big guys were outstanding. We\u2019ll take it. I like the two points.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two points bring the Avs\u2019 total on the season to 90, with 14 games to play. Their season total for all of last year? 90 points.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been definite improvement in the group. We\u2019ve talked a lot about being more consistent defensively, staying committed. Not perfect every night, but there\u2019s been improvement there,\u201d Bednar said. \u201cI think we\u2019re better off right now than we were last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
NOTES AND OTHER TAKEAWAYS<\/p>\n
I thought the Avs caught a fortunate break when San Jose\u2019s Logan Couture was forced from the game in the first period from a puck to the face by a teammate\u2019s pass. Couture has always been a real pain in the butt for the Avs \u2013 as he is for most teams.
\nNikita Zadorov was a healthy scratch for the second straight game, but I\u2019d say the odds are decent he\u2019ll return to the lineup Monday against the Kings. Kevin Connauton played in his place again, and didn\u2019t look so great when a shot he took was blocked, then he was caught flat-footed on a breakaway goal against that tied the game 2-2.
\nI wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s a lock that Michael Hutchinson will start against the Kings, though. If the Avs can win the game against Los Angeles, they will move into the top spot in the Western Conference. I think the Avs really want to be able to say that, even if just temporarily, and might just go with their best goalie, Pavel Francouz. We\u2019ll see.
\nBednar, in fact, said he was still considering who would start in net against the Kings. He said he\u2019d likely decide overnight, but maybe not until the morning.
\nI thought Francouz rebounded well from a couple of mediocre-to-poor starts for him, with a strong showing against the Sharks. He had to make some really tough saves, including another breakaway chance after the Connauton muff.
\nLots of empty seats at the Shark Tank for this one. The fact that the Sharks have no shot at the playoffs no doubt contributed to some of that, but the coronavirus also played a role in that too. It\u2019s all over the news here.
\nYes, Ryan\u00a0Graves got away with a slash in the third period on Timo Meier. But did the announcers on NBC have to mention it every 10 seconds?
\nI asked Graves about the slash, and he used a less than family-friendly term to describe what he would have said to the announcers over their indignation at the non-call. Graves said Meier had been trying to twist his ankle prior to the slash, with his stick, and he\u2019d had enough. He thought Meier had been trying to hurt him.
\nWord we\u2019re hearing late tonight: the Avs\u2019 dressing room will be off-limits to reporters in Los Angeles, per NHL orders. Oy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN JOSE, Calif. \u2013\u00a0I was absolutely baffled when the San Jose Sharks let Joonas Donskoi go on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":193092,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[90403,88,90,89],"class_list":{"0":"post-193091","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-joonas-donskoi","9":"tag-san-jose","10":"tag-san-jose-headlines","11":"tag-san-jose-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193091\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}